Relapsing Polychondritis

UNTIL JULY, 1961, only 13 cases of relapsing polychondritis had been reported in the literature. This interesting syndrome described recently by Pearson et al. as relapsing polychondritis and by Davies and Kelsalla as chronic atrophie polychondritis has been described under various names including polychondropathia by Jakseh-Warten-horst in 1923, and later by Altherr and von Meyenburg as chondromalacie. Bober and Czarniecki in 1955, and Bean et al. in 1958, also described the syndrome as chronic atrophie polychondritis. Harwood in 1958, described his case as diffuse pcrichondritis, chondritis, and iritis, obviously the same syndrome. Relapsing polychondritis is considered by most authors to be an acquired disease of unknown etiology, chiefly involving cartilage and probaby due to an enzymatic or metabolic defect. The disease is characterized by its chronicity and episodic nature. Although chondritis, perichondritis, and iritis have been reported as frequent components of this syndrome, fever, malaise, and an elevated sedimentation rate